Album Details: Digitally Remastered Collection of Blondie Hits that Accompanies the Band on their Winter 2002 Tour. This Disc Updates the Collection and Adds their Comeback #1 in the UK "Maria" to Make this the Most Up-to-date Blondie Set Ever Released.
Blondie Remastered And Better Than Ever Few bands can say that they have a real model at the helm. Fewer still can admit to being successful as such. Blondie is probably the only band that fits into this category. From synth-pop to reggae to pop punk to straight ahead rock n' roll, this band meshed multiple genres together and made it sound great. This album, digitally remastering all of their best tunes, is an excellent compilation of a band that stands as a pioneer and true legend in music. "Dreaming," "Maria," "In The Flesh," and "Heart Of Glass" are all here. Lesser known tracks to the casual fan such as "X Offender" and "Union City Blue" are also on this album.
"Rapture," which one could argue is the first blending of rap and rock (and pre-dating the Aerosmith/Run DMC tune, "Walk This Way"), is included, and stands as a wonderful example of how well the band could fuse genres that seemingly didn't belong together. The island rhythms and reggae sounds of "The Tide Is High" and "Island Of Lost Souls" prove that Blondie was no stranger to experimentation.
For casual fans and completionists, "Blondie-Greatest Hits" is a must have. It features there best known tunes and offers up some excellent songs to newer fans as well. Hardcore fans probably already have these songs in their collection, but I would suggest they give this hits package a shot, as the digitally remastered songs sound better than ever. Highly recommended.
Blondie have gone way up in my estimation now...
After listening to this album, I'd have to say that Blondie are one of a handful of the best US bands of all time...maybe top 3...if not better. This re-evaluation of the band is due to listening to a lot of songs which you don't hear on commercial FM stations in Australia. Over here, you can expect to hear "Heart of glass" a lot. I used to find this a great song but now tend to avoid listening to it when it's on the radio. You do tend to hear "Call me" often too, which is a great, driving, rock song. Too much of that song is barely enough, as Roy and H.G. might say.
It was great to rediscover "The hardest part", a song I had totally forgotten from "Eat to the beat", an L.P. I used to own as a kid. Listening to that song now, it strikes me as the kind of song Jimmy Barnes or AC/DC would do...a very boyzone kind of track, in stark contrast to the sublime girly vocals that lead singer Debbie Harry usually does. If I hadn't just checked Amazon's listing for "Eat to the beat" I would have said that this compilation I'm reviewing is definitive, but some of the songs listed on "Eat to the beat" ring a few bells for me, so maybe a couple more songs from the that earlier album would have done the trick. In any case, this compilation is vastly superior to some skinny compilations I've seen around the place.
The sound quality on this cd is quite good...sounds really bright, and I tend to like that quality in cds. On occasion, it may sound a bit harsh but otherwise, I have no complaints.
One of the qualities I like about the band is the satisfying drumming/drum sound. I make the same comment in my review of The Police's latest compilation. The major hook of the band is the silky, liquid, cooing vocals of Debbie Harry, the blonde bombshell of the band. She can really hold a note too. A great front woman.
Listening to this cd, another comment I can make about their music is the style that they play. To me, they seem to have been influenced by 50's music, and 60's girl band music, but they give a modern update to it.
They do experiment with music though: "The tide is high" [which features a Darth Vader look alike in the video!] has a reggae feel to it, and "Island of lost souls" has a Calypso sound to it. The latter was a minor hit in Australia and I think it was the last time the band charted here.
There are two good songs which features Harry incorporating French lyrics to great effect: "Denis" and "Sunday girl".
My pick as the best songs on this album are "Call me" and "Atomic". The latter has a great bass line in the middle of it. One of the best songs for a great bass solo.
Blondie can also lay claim to being one of the first, if not the first band to take rap music mainstream with "Rapture". The pre-rap part of this song is divine, with Harry at her sensual, sexual, cooing best. It has a gorgeous bell melody at the start, with Harry sounding all girly, then sounding like a sexual woman later in the piece [the song "Maria" also has a very nice bell part to it]. Her rapping and the video are historically interesting for mentioning some 'names' of that scene at the time. The video features graffiti art by well known 'taggers' of the time [graffiti artists].
Some of the songs which make me think of 50's/60's acts are: Dreaming [60's], X Offender [50's/60's], In the flesh [50's/60's girl band sound], Denis [has a Buddy Holly sound, from the 50's] and Sunday Girl.
Apart from the two songs which I think are great [Call me/Atomic/Rapture], the songs I consider to be good on this album are: Dreaming/The tide is high/In the flesh/Denis/Union city blue/The hardest part/Sunday girl/ and Maria. "Union city blue" is a soaring, anthemic song...perfect to sing along too!
Australia gave Blondie their first international hit. Harry says:
"We met Ian [host of seminal Australian music show "Countdown"] in 1977 when we were supporting Iggy Pop in the States. He asked us if we had any videos. We gave him videos for X-Offender and In The Flesh. On Countdown they were meant to play X-Offender, but they played In The Flesh instead. So our success in Australia was one big mistake! By the end of 1977, In The Flesh had hit number two in Australia. It was our first hit anywhere in the world".
Have heard Harry say elsewhere, I think, that maybe Australian stations were a bit too conservative to play "X Offender" at the time. Hearing the latter song for the first time on this cd, I find that amusing. The song isn't particularly confronting and I think "In the flesh" is actually the superior song...by a loooooooong way.
Lastly, some years ago I saw Blondie on pay tv, playing live. I thought Harry was awful...she was still acting like she was the blonde bombshell she used to be and her singing reminded you of how great she used to sing these classics. My wish was for Harry to develop another kind of stage persona and sing her songs in a different, but cool way. Say, maybe more punkish, or raunchy...like Tina Turner, perhaps. A couple of songs on this album could show the way for her, I think: "One way or another" which has a freakshow carnival sort of vocal sound to it...phlegmy etc. "Picture this", which sounds a little Country, has Harry making gargling sounds with her singing. Finding a similar edger to her voice now I think would suit the band perfectly...age has taken away her sublime voice and the ability to hold those notes.
Without this album, I'd be restricted to thinking that the only decent songs this band had are the ones you hear on commercial radio in Australia. The fact that these stations always flog songs to death should be a warning on how bad that assumption is.
The Red Hot Chilli Peppers are probably the only American band which shades Blondie. This album is a must buy for pop/rock fans.
Blondie - They Had Me At 'Heart of Glass' Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R2HP8KHJI3Z48D I'm a big Blondie fan on quite a few songs but there's a real sharp cutoff on what I don't like, which is actually more than I like. Still there's enough great stuff that they'll always be one of my favorites to listen and JumpRock to. This album manages to include mostly genuine hits - my opinion, of course.
"Heart of Glass" is the first Blondie song I ever remember hearing. It's got a lot of energy and it's really fun to jump to.
Music for driving One of my three all-time favorite CDs, "Blondie Platinum 2CDs 1998" is not the exact copy featured on this page. However, this was closest and differs in only two songs. I want to review this music because Blondie is such great driving music!
"Island of Lost Souls" is playing now. As I am writing, I am bouncing in my chair. Is this calypso music? Then there's "Call Me." This song and Richard Gere are inextricably bound with American Gigolo, a movie that stands the test of time. "Rapture" is one of the top songs in her repertoire (says I). I think it is early rap/hip-hop, Deborah Harry-style. "Rip Her to Shreds" is another favorite. It's so viciously yummy! "The Hardest Part" is a drive-with-the-nieces-and-nephew and dance at the top of our lungs, pulsing the beat with our arms banging in the air. Rock on! "One Way or Another" I'm gonna getcha, I'm gonna getcha getcha getcha....I think Sting had a similar song. "Hanging on the Telephone"--just stay on and he can never leave ya, another stalking song
Just a few for you. A reminder of how great the music of Deborah Harry and Blondie is. If you like this kind of music. If you like innovation and some edgy stuff.
"We can share the wine..." Blondie - Greatest Hits is an excellent collection of Blondie's best and most loved hits. How can you not like this band and that oh so smoldering Debbie Harry, the original "it" girl for rock music. She has inspired so many frontwomen like Courtney Love, Shirley Manson, Gwen Stefani, etc. Standout tracks include: Call Me, One Way or Another, Heart of Glass, Rapture, The Tide is High (my personal fave!), Hanging on the Telehone, Rip Her to Shreds and Maria. If you want just the essential hits then this collection from Blondie is the one for you, I also recommend their debut album as well.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Not Available Comics
Tony's Online Tips
Trevor
